front cover to get to the timing chain

[turbonissan]

i need to find out how hard it is to do this! I might be doing this my self but kinda need some direction on what to do and which order to do it thank for any help!

[nismopu]

Its not that hard but for the first timer I suggest removing everything you see being in the way. I always remove the fan, shroud/radiator, belts, crank pulley, and oil pump. Then I remove the front four bolts that go through the oil pan and into the cover itself. Then the bolts that retain it to the block, don't forget the one that hides behind the oil pump. Lastly the four bolts that connect it to the head. Once you pry the front cover off then you can remove the timing components and its pretty self explanatory. Just line the shiny links up with the dot on the crank and the one on the cam gear. Now just bolt it all back together, lol! g/l my man. peace.

[JsD21HB]

just make sure ur at tdc before starting. and did u dl that manual that i posted on that other thread?

[turbonissan]

how important is the guide on the timing chain when I opened up my cover there was no guide and I was wondering if that could of or would of done alot of dmage to my truck!

[IThaJokaI]

yeh your timing chain guide is pretty important...

[JsD21HB]

yeah by the sounds of it it sound pretty fucked. thats is the xact thing that i saw when i did mine u might wanna pull ur oil pan probly chunks of plastic at the bottom. good idea to get all that shit out before u drive it. hopefully u didnt skip a tooth. but u should probly be fine.

[turbonissan]

what do you meant skip a tooth!? everything on it looked real good. No real problems I pulled it all out and there were pieces but everything else looked ok!! I hope!!?!?

[sparkinframe]

use oem. i did this to mine, cheeped out and bought aftermarket. i drove it for an hour, shut er down, and in the morning same fuckin rattle

[JsD21HB]

dont take the tensioner off leave it be. just put a small allen wrench through the hole and compress it to make it stay otherwise u can buy a new oem one. u could just go buy a new slack side guide from nissan dealer for 15 bucks and the hardware.

[turbonissan]

i am buying a new guide but i had to take my tensioner out that was the bolt that I found loose when I did my oil pump. I had to order the bolt and when it comes in tomorrow maybe i can get it on and running again. I just dont know about the chain does it have to go back on in a certain order I looked andcouldnt find any markings on it to line up!!

[JsD21HB]

did u set to tdc first . i really hope so.

[SmashinHaters]

should have dots on th gears, turn th bottom till your number one piston is at th top of th compression stroke, tht should git u to topdeadcenter.


mine was plastic crap, replaced with non plastic crap, no probs since.

[turbonissan]

Yeah it is on tdc now are there any marks on the chain though? I saw them on the gears! i dont think the one I ordered was plastic! I will find out tomorrow. I jsut dont want to get this together and have to redo it just because something else went wrong!

[JsD21HB]

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r66/jsd21hb/timingmarks.jpg
this should help.

[97xenissan]

ok when changing the chain is the how delicate is the head gasket the part that seals the cover, do i have to drop the oil pan, is it really as hard as people make it seem, (not here, but all the mechanics i've asked)

[nismopu]

you dont have to drop the oil pan but you do have to remove the front oil pan bolts to get the cover off in the first place. Its pretty easy to drop the oil pan on a 2wd but a royal pain in a 4x4. peace.

[lomofo11]

It's not all that hard to do. When mine went out I did a complete tune up and gasket overhaul on the whole engine. I actually jumped a tooth so it ran like shit driving it back home. Do not use the autozone/o'rielly garbage. I had a cam gear chip teeth very easily. So I bought all oem and not a problem. Oh, the chain should have a mis-colored link for your alignment issue.

[97xenissan]

ok if i loosen the oil pan bolts how would i reseal the pan to the cover wouldnt it leak, i dont mind having to drop the pan just dont want any problems or leaks after im done and i bought the O'rilleys kit (Cloyes) but im gonna return it and get the OEM parts, also do i need any speacial tools? i have gear pullers, fan clutch tool i should be about coverd right?

[JsD21HB]

the only difference between oem and aftermarket is the tensioner.Aftermarket tensioners are junk. when i did mine i only replaced the slackside and the tensioner bar and the chain.
i droped my oil pan cause i had lots of chunks of plastic in there. its probly a good idea.
and the fsm says that u use rtv to seal the pan to the block. just make sure u get the oil pump back in right had to do mine like 3 times to get it right. good luck.

[nismopu]

Find a pan gasket for it dont use RTV. Trust me your oil pump will thank you as will your engine. peace.

[JsD21HB]

really why. thats what the fsm says to use. i had a new pan for my 240 and thats what i did and it dont leak or ne thing.

[nismopu]

RTV is the devil! It was invented because people are cheap and manufacturers are cheap. If theres a gasket available, which there is for the oil pan. USE IT! lol. I guarantee my old L-6 motor gaskets will outlast the rtv used on your oil pan. About the only thing I would trust in liquid form would be hondabond but you would have to beat the oil pan off when removing it later, shits tough! Also, not everything in the FSm is the end all be all. The fsm doesnt tell you how to properly apply it either, and every KA engine i have opened up has had rtv in all the wrong places(inside the oil pump, pickup screen, and coolant passages). I even found it once used in place of the small o-ring on the pickup tube to the block, BAD idea! peace.

[JsD21HB]

oh well too late now i suppose. but i really dont care if my shit blows up cause i got a dual cam sitting around that i will probly toss in this summer. but def gonna use the pan gasket on the next motor thanks.